Greater Messapia

Andy Bragen’s Greater Messapia, inspired by Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist play The Bald Soprano, is a black comedy about ethnic cleansing in Queens. In ethnically diverse Elmhurst, the last Messapian family prepares for its only son Jan’s wedding day. According to Messapian tradition, seventeen year old Jan Smith, a fan of Metallica and the New York Mets, must marry by the age of eighteen or face ritual beheading with an antique scimatar. Torn between his love for his non-Messapian girlfriend and responsibility to his race, Jan plans for a morally conflicted prom night.

The cast includes Obie-award winner Jan Leslie Harding and Wooster Group vet Michael Stumm.